Chapter 1535: Fire, Burglary and Anti-Reporters (Part 2, ask for a monthly ticket)
Before opening the envelope, Senator Williams thought about the possibilities countless times...
Although he had never had contact with newspaper reporters before, because various scandals about congressmen had appeared in newspapers one after another during this period, he did not lose due vigilance.
The famous saying "Beware of fire, beware of theft and beware of journalists" is said to have come from the mouth of Lord Lorraine, the commander of the coalition forces. It immediately became the motto of the House of Representatives.
Of course, there is another possibility. There may be a golden ticket inside this envelope. And the reporter with the annoying smile in front of him may be here to bribe him.
But maybe the last name is not big.
Senators sound powerful, but in fact they don't have much power. They may be able to restrict political axes, but that's about it.
Judging from the contents of the "Weekly Telegraph" in recent times, under the banner of neutrality, it has reported scandals in the parliament. It is obviously biased towards supporting the political ax, so the guy in front of him has bad intentions.
Senator Williams quickly reviewed in his mind everything he had done since becoming a senator.
After he becomes this senator, he will naturally not only serve the Semitic people. In addition to his official duties, Senator Williams will also do some private work.
After all, rice in Arkadelin is quite expensive, and living in this city is not easy, especially as a public figure.
It cost him a lot of money to get the seat of the senator. The property in his hometown was expropriated by the government in accordance with the law, and he paid the back taxes.
For this reason, Senator Williams almost spent all his savings. In addition, he had to participate in entertainment and social activities, build relationships with comrades in the faction, and win their support within the party.
Even when there is nothing wrong, you have to flatter the big bosses in the party. These brats never rub dirt in their eyes. They say a few nice words and flatter them. It doesn't work at all.
These gentlemen are all in need of useful information.
In addition, there are various birthdays, festivals, and weddings and funerals of MPs, and the red envelopes paid are also a large number.
What's more, he also maintains a team of twelve people, a special car, and several good horses. Although these are paid for by the government and do not require him to pay wages, in order to win people's hearts, they have to be given to them from time to time.
To give out a few bonuses or something, he has to pay for it.
The senator's salary alone is not enough to treat his subordinates to dinner, not to mention that he also keeps several mistresses - if you don't have a few mistresses these days, you will be embarrassed to go out and say hello to others.
This is why politics has nothing to do with poor people.
Lingshan's legal provisions stipulate that as long as you have proof of assets and own a donkey, you are eligible to run for parliament or even the president.
But that's just a legal requirement. You know, politics is expensive.
Although Williams is a senator, he still has to find ways to make a living.
The simplest one is to act as an intermediary for contractors, undertake government projects, and receive kickbacks. The standard is 10 to 15 percent of the project price.
But everyone did this, and he wasn't the only one. This was an unspoken rule in the parliament. Even Lord Luo turned a blind eye.
This reporter looks very young and would not be so foolish as to poke this hornet's nest.
Williams secretly thought: "If it's not a kickback, then someone discovered it because I reported it anonymously?"
After occupying Arkadelin, he secretly reported on several of his enemies, who were captured by the CIA and tortured severely. This was a bit troublesome.
However, he consciously did it very secretly. Even if the other party noticed it, he would not be able to get evidence.
Williams secretly thought about his response and prepared to respond calmly. He was not even afraid of Madolins. This small storm could not scare him, and he was not afraid of a young reporter.
The senator's most likely intuition is that the paparazzi caught him having an extramarital affair. He and the two goblins in the office often check into hotel rooms as ghosts. Anyone who is interested will find out if they spend a little money to deal with these tabloid reporters.
In this era, having a lover could not threaten his status as a senator. Even if it was reported in the newspapers, everyone would laugh and praise: Famous officials are romantic.
It's just a bit of trouble at most, and it's time for the yellow-faced woman at home to make a fuss again.
Everyone does this, even the common people themselves are used to it.
No one has ever dared to say that people with many lovers have bad character. If you use this to attack people, the first thing you will hit is Lord Lorraine. Not only does he have many girlfriends, but they are all famous beauties in various industries.
They are all on their own.
Speaking of which, Williams is worthy of being a politician, and his brain is very fast.
Although it only took a few breaths, he had already turned his own affairs over and over in his mind.
After making sure that he had no leverage, he boldly opened the envelope.
But Senator Williams did not expect...
What he saw was actually a business dispute during the old government era.
He misappropriated his partner's goods and forced the partner to commit suicide. He is suspected of fraud and is a criminal offence.
Although this happened during the old government, this kind of criminal crime must be acknowledged even under the new government. If the other party reveals the evidence, the legal agencies will also have to come forward.
The senator thought that this matter had long been forgotten with the collapse of the old regime. Unexpectedly, this reporter's nose was so sharp that he never knew where to dig out this old incident.
For a while, his complexion turned blue and white, which was really ugly.
Bentley admired the wonderful expression on the senator's face, and was secretly proud: How could I use those little things to catch a big fish like you?
The only ones who can dig out such a secret event are the secret police who have the secrets of the Lingshan nobles. There are countless secrets buried in the pile of old papers in their archives.
These were originally collected by Madolins, the Prime Minister of the old regime, with the intention of punishing those disobedient people. However, before he could take action, he himself collapsed first, thus benefiting the newly established FBI in vain.
However, these files are too confusing, and the FBI has worked hard to sort them out in order to find these black materials.
Senator Williams' expression changed back and forth several times, he threw the note on the table, raised his head and stared at Bentley, and said in a deep voice: "What do you mean?"
Bentley, the gold medal reporter, spread his hands and said: "Senator, you will see a news in the newspaper tomorrow. Is it better to call it black hands voting, or to call it justice behind the scenes?"
Both headlines are a mockery of Senator Williams.
Senator Williams' face turned pale and he clenched his fists unconsciously.
He had worked hard to get this position, and he couldn't make any mistakes.
At this time, Bentley's eyes rested on his fist for a moment, and when he saw the veins on Williams' hand jumping one by one, he suddenly smiled and said softly: "Of course, you don't have to sign."
Senator Williams snorted coldly, fell back in his chair, stared at reporter Bentley, and said: "Speak directly, what do you mean?"
Although the words are still strong, people can hear the harshness and inner cowardice in them.
Bentley was already waving the flag of victory in his heart, and he was not in a hurry to speak. Instead, he took out a cigarette, lit it leisurely, took a deep breath, and then blew out a thick puff of smoke.
Then, through the smoke, like a cat playing with a mouse, I saw Williams' expression, and then slowly said: "Our editor is very concerned about this matter and instructed me to come to the senator to verify it in person. This
Whether a matter can be published or not is up to you, Senator?"
Williams said coldly: "What do you want from me, money?"
"Ha~!" Bentley sneered and said, "You underestimate us too much. All we need is a promise. You know, Mr. Dolenni is very concerned about our newspaper."
"Dolenni~!" A flash of lightning flashed across Senator Williams' heart, and he immediately understood the meaning of his words.
All these actions were caused by that damn Chief of Staff Dolani next to Brad. His heart sank and he thought to himself: If it were him, it would not be easy to deal with it~!
Dolenni is a smart and cunning guy, and his background is very tough, like a prickly hedgehog.
At first, when Bentley threw out the documents, Williams was extremely shocked. He once thought about losing money to avoid disaster. But then he calmed down, but he thought about murdering people and silencing them - which of the senator's
If the score is not bloody, how can a dead reporter extort it~!
Just make a random phone call and there will be several companies and groups willing to provide help in this area. Maybe they will hire a top killer to ensure that the job is clean and leaves no traces.
But now, Doleni is involved...the situation is extremely complicated. Killing a damn reporter and killing the chief adviser to the president are completely different concepts.
The former is at best a criminal case.
The latter is an extremely serious political case. If Brad gets mad again and thinks that someone is targeting the people around him and intends to usurp the throne, then a large-scale purge will be launched...
The terror caused by Madolins had just passed. It was still fresh in everyone's memory.
Seeing that the senator had been shaken, Bentley decided to add another weight to crush the poor congressman, and said casually: "Oh, by the way, we met with Senator McVenney yesterday, and he
Very appreciative of the media’s attitude.”
"What~!" Williams was suddenly shocked. McVenney was a big boss in the party and was much more powerful than him. He thought to himself: Even someone as highly respected as him betrayed the revolution and defected to the president?
These congressmen do not buy into the president's fault and go against him because they have their sights set on the future presidential election and want to start accumulating prestige and power from now on.
But now, if he doesn't give in, once the scandal is exposed, his party will sacrifice him without hesitation like digging out a sore. This is cruel and ruthless politics.
And the price for him betraying the party and joining Brad is also very high. At the very least, he will be kicked out of their circle by the party and left to fend for himself until he finds a new backer or slowly disappears from the political arena.
There was a fierce confrontation between the two thoughts in Senator Williams' mind, and in the end Mingzhe gained the upper hand. He nodded and said solemnly: "I also very much welcome the supervision of us by newspapers. We Semitics need more people like the Weekly Telegraph
Such an excellent newspaper.”
He had the air of a senator on an inspection tour.
Bentley finally showed a smile of victory, and the two of them played a round of charades, but both understood the other party's meaning accurately.
He stood up, stretched out his hand to the senator, shook his hand vigorously, and said: "We also welcome senators to make suggestions on our work at any time."
Williams smiled bitterly, pointed to the note on the table, and said, "Aren't you going to take this back?"
Bentley laughed and said, "You can keep it, we have a lot more there."
With that said, he turned around and left out the door proudly.
Williams was stunned for a moment and couldn't figure out what he meant by "there are many more". This made the senator very uneasy: Is the other party still holding a hand on him?
The angry senator grabbed the tea cup on the table and smashed it on the ground. The beautiful white porcelain cup made a crisp sound and then shattered into pieces, startling the little secretary who hurried in.
Her pink face turned pale with fright, and she said in panic: "What happened?"
Senator Williams slumped down in his chair and said in frustration: "I was threatened by the president's men, these damn bastards~!"
The beautiful and weak female secretary threw herself into the arms of the senator like a baby swallow, hugged the senator tightly, and said hesitantly: "Is there no way? Should we report it to the official? If we sue them for fraud, people in the party will support us.
.”
After listening to her idiotic suggestion, Senator Williams sighed, but in order to prevent this stupid woman from making her own decisions, he bravely stepped forward. At that moment, he had no choice but to patiently explain: "It's useless, this guy is a newspaper publisher.
of.
He and the people who instruct him belong to the newspaper. Even if we say it, the president's personal behavior can be said to be the personal behavior of the newspaper and freedom of the press.
If the president is not involved, the party will not stand up for me, and I, as a congressman, will be the end of it."
Williams knew very well that everything he had now was brought to him by his status as "Senator". Without this status, he would be just a small landowner in the countryside of Eastern Province with only 300 acres of land and a deposit of 2,000 gold coins.
No matter what, he wants to preserve his political future.
Senator Williams, who was in trouble, used his brain and thought to himself: Maybe we should talk to McVenney first. Anyway, everyone is likely to be kicked out of the party in the future. We are all in the same boat, so why not take the opportunity to reorganize a new party?
come out.
Maybe by then, this new party will have a large number of people and become a major party in the parliament...
Under the double blow of newspapers and the FBI, the hot August turned out to be as bitterly cold as the harsh winter to members of the House and Senate.
The enemies hiding in the dark are like king cobras hiding in the grass, attacking them from unexpected places, spraying deadly venom.
No politician is innocent. Even if there are, they have been tainted by others. If there is really someone who has emerged from the filth without being stained, everyone cannot rest assured and must work together to trample that bastard to the ground.
Therefore, they would not be able to catch the little tail without Dolani.
Many incidents that only occurred in secret rooms were dug up and exposed by reporters before the congressmen even knew what was going on.
What was even more terrifying than the exposure was the threat to come to their door with black materials, asking them to be obedient. For a moment, people were panicked, and all the members were in danger. When a reporter came to interview, they were so scared that their calves trembled.
The congressmen were all passive and sighed: I didn't expect that the president would be such a shameless and insidious person.
President Bullard, the soft-spoken good guy in everyone's mind, has transformed into the devil. The reporters are his devils, holding the devil's contract and asking them to sell their souls.
Secret agent politics has shown its powerful power. Brad said with emotion, it is so useful. It turns out that politics can be played in this way.
He was even a little obsessed. Although he knew that spy politics was an addictive drug, he still liked the feeling of having the other party's body and soul manipulated in his hands.
The secrets of acquaintances were revealed to him one by one, and then watching their sanctimonious or righteous performances, President Brad found it very funny, just like watching a wonderful drama.
At the same time, this also gave President Bullard renewed confidence. His opponents turned out to be nothing more than that, they were all equally stupid and weak.
The sudden rise of the president changed the political forces within the republic and developed in a direction that was beneficial to him.
During the whole process, Lord Lorraine just watched with cold eyes, neither condoning nor stopping it.
Secret service politics naturally has its uses. The second emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen, who was diligent and caring for the people, came to power and abolished the royal spies Jin Yiwei and the East and West Factory that checked and balanced officials. Then he was completely manipulated and fooled by the civil servants, and finally played himself to death.
President Bullard, who had the upper hand, took advantage of the victory and hosted a banquet for the governors from the study class at the Presidential Palace in the name of connecting with each other.
More than 30 governors with a keen sense of smell are very aware that in the recent political turmoil in Arkadelin, President Brad has been silent, making a surprise move and taking the initiative.
The governors sized up the situation and had to bow their heads when they knew someone was under the eaves. Brad might have some dirty information about himself in his hands.
No one was absent from the banquet, even an old man suffering from heatstroke was helped to the banquet.
The gorgeous banquet hall and delicious dishes did not reassure the governors, and they stared at the door of the hall uneasily.
As the attendant shouted "His Majesty the Semitic President has arrived", the hall instantly became quiet, everyone stood up and stood in silence, and President Bullard walked in at a brisk pace.
This is the third time that everyone has met President Bullard after meeting at the opening ceremony of the study class.
The proud look on his face makes it impossible to connect him with the embarrassing image he was beaten by the parliament last month.
At the banquet, the governors respectfully toasted to their superiors and bowed their heads to listen to President Bullard's teachings.
The good attitude of the younger brothers finally gave Brad a presidential feeling. Brad sighed in his heart: It is really not easy. At home, neither his wife nor his daughter regard him as a Semitic head of state.
President Bullard brought up the old matter again at the banquet and asked the various governors to work together to send troops to suppress the bandits for the sake of the great cause of the republic.
The governors all responded generously and said that at this critical moment, they have shown their true nature as loyal ministers. It is our duty as local officials to share the government's worries. Moreover, we are responsible for our own military expenses and do not need to pay for it from the central government.
After the banquet, President Bullard fell drunkenly on his chair, listening to the compliments and flattery of his staff, and felt so happy that he seemed to be flying into the sky.
But the door to the Oval Office was suddenly knocked open, and a staff member rushed in in panic, shouting anxiously: "It's not good~!" (To be continued.